Last Night
by Bramblerose4
Summary: Noah's heading out to college in the morning. This is how he spends his last night with his best friend. Establishing Noex.
1. One

_I have no lid upon my head,_

_But if I did, you could look inside_

_And see what's on my mind._

_It's you._

Dave Matthews Band, "Let You Down"

**One**

_Relax. Things are going to be fine. Everything already is fine. Just breathe and try to enjoy yourself. _Noah followed his advice and took a steadying breath to settle his nerves.

It was the night before he was setting out to college which ostensibly meant this was the last night he would have with his best friend until the Winter break and he wanted to make the most of it; and to do that he needed Rex in a good mood. And he knew the best way to do that was to put Rex in charge of what they did.

He was more than pleasantly surprised when Rex said he wanted to stay in and watch movies and just hang out at his house. A part of him was suspicious by the seemingly normal plan while at the same time he didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth in case it decided to bite him for staring and for the moment Noah was keeping his thoughts to himself.

And it was slowly driving him crazy.

Knowing the types of activities Rex considered entertaining (things like bike racing and taking a nice scroll through The Zoo in Providence HQ) and how most of them usually ended up with a trip to Doctor Holiday's office to patch them up, Noah couldn't stop his initial freak out at the idea of what Rex would suggest they do. Which is why the unexpected movie night was making him feel cagey; it was something Noah would suggest they do, not Rex. Noah couldn't figure it out.

"Are you sure you don't wanna go sky diving or street race some bikers?"

Rex laughed at the ideas. "Nah, there's no thrill in racing when I already know I'd win. Plus, I've been wanting to see this," he explained pulling out a DVD of the recent _3:10 to Yuma_ remake.

And so they did.

Rex seemed to be enjoying the movie because Noah spent most of it watching Rex, memorizing what it felt like to hang out with him. He made a mental note to rent it again one day so he could fill in the blanks.

Noah needed this night to be about them. In the morning he would be leaving to start his college life in Boston. It would be months before he would get a chance to hang out with his best friend again. While the challenge of higher education and living on his own excited him, he was having some difficultly with leaving everything and everyone he grew up with behind; mainly the EVO sitting beside him.

He was going to miss Rex and planned to make these last hours together memorable, especially since the last time they hung out it had ended badly. It had been so bad Rex had stormed off angry at him and Noah was completely clueless as to why. He called and texted Rex and when he received no reply he headed to Providence only to have Bobo tell him "The chief's busy." Disappointed and angry in his own right Noah returned home and finished the day by stuffing his belongings into cardboard boxes.

Noah still didn't understand what had happened that day. He planned to ask Rex at some point but when he appeared at the door all apologetic smiles and eyes bright with mischief Noah forgave him and refrained from asking for an explanation, fearing it would spoil the good vibe they had going. But that didn't mean he wasn't curious about why Rex had been so upset with him. Perhaps he could bring it up randomly one day. _Hey Rex, thanks for showing up at my graduation! By the way, do you remember that time six years ago when you so mad at me? What was up with that?_

Imagining Rex's confused response to the question made him smile, chasing way his bitter thoughts that something would ruin this night. Things were going far too well. He couldn't help but worry it was only a matter of time before things turned sour.

He knew he could be putting too much pressure on himself but he felt there was a tension between the two of them. After all, he and Rex hadn't resolved anything from their earlier fight.

Something about him still bothered Rex. Noah was sure of it. He just didn't know what it was. And not knowing was putting him on edge. Despite the fun they were having now Noah didn't think it meant Rex was completely over what made him stalk off in the first place. It was obvious what he needed to get Rex to tell him why he was upset with Noah, but he feared the automatic dampener that would put on the mood.

"How great was that? That was a good movie," Rex declared standing up to stretch.

Noah blinked out of his thoughts and focused on the TV. The credits were scrolling up the screen. Noah smirked.

"Yeah," he agreed unconvincingly.

"Do you think there'll be a sequel?" Rex joked.

"I highly doubt that, but you never know with Hollywood."

Rex chuckled and reached down to grab a handful of red licorice from the tall plastic jug on the coffee table. Wordlessly he handed Noah his share before he happily stuffing his mouth with candy.

Watching Rex eat told Noah it was time for something more substantial than red licorice and popcorn. He pulled out his phone and did want most teenage boys did when they were hungry; make someone else cook for them.

Dialing their favorite pizzeria, Noah ordered two supreme pizzas, one for each of them, and then suggested they go into the garage and play a few rounds of table tennis as they waited for the pizza to arrive.

Rex was in the garage before Noah had laced up his shoes.

Unsurprisingly, Rex won most of the games. Noah didn't mind though, he could tell his skills were a bit rusty, but that doesn't really mean anything in table tennis. He still managed to win two games and that counted as a small victory when playing against Rex, he had beaten his personal best against the strong hitting EVO.

They continued playing when the pizza arrived, much to the chagrin of Steven, the delivery guy. Rex tried to test his ability with multiple partners by convincing Steven into a two on one match against him with Noah. It didn't work out. Noah made sure he tipped Steven well for handling Rex's persistence well.

At Noah's suggestion they ate on the garage roof. He knew full well it was one of Rex's favorite places in the house and that Rex wouldn't say no.

Wrapping an arm around Noah's shoulders Rex jumped up into the garage roof where they lounged on the low slope and ate their pizza in relative silence.

Noah stared up into the night trying to remember which constellations he was looking at, but nope, none of the astronomy lessons had stuck. Besides here in the city it was more likely those twinkling lights were actually satellites winking back earth's light.

He opened his mouth to share his thoughts with Rex when his vision was filled with the EVO's silhouette looming over him. He turned his head to fully face him. "What?"

Rex stared at him for a moment, searching for the words. "I'm glad I came over," he finally managed, nodding once and then moving back to his place next to Noah. "Also, I ate the last slice," he grinned and hopped off the roof before Noah could retaliate.

* * *

**I want to thank Emilinia-sama for the beta work. **


	2. Two

_Crazy, how it feels tonight. _

_Crazy, how you make it all right._

Dave Matthews Band, "Crush"

**Two**

Rex had very little experience with sleep overs. Noah knew that. When he was living with him during the repairs to Providence HQ Rex spent most of his time in front of the TV, watching his Spanish soap operas until he passed out on the couch. Since EVOs don't bother with keeping their raging mutations within business hours, Rex was always on call. So he took naps whenever he could get them, often while Noah was trying to study or raise his social status by hanging out with Claire.

But now all of Noah's homework was done, Claire had already moved into her dorm a week ago, and he and Rex were running out of time before they would be able to do this again, if they ever could. Idly Noah wondered how different things would be between them when he returned from school.

Completely unaware of his friend's stirring thought Rex walked over to the opposite side of Noah's bedroom Rex took to his usual spot on the floor when he stayed over. Noah climbed into his bed and stared at the ceiling. He was tired but reluctant to end this last night with Rex.

Apparently Rex had the same thought.

"Oh, hey did I tell you about the email Six sent me?"

"No," Noah replied curiously.

Rex smiled like Noah had just given him the vest gift of all time. "There nothing in the email but an attachment of the full _Providence Code of Conduct for Active Agents_."

Noah rolled onto his side, curious. He had seen the thick rule book when he was first recruited by Providence and knew Rex must have done something huge to get Six to attach the two thousand page document. "What did you do?"

"Well, do you remember that little incident at the ball park last week?"

"Yes." Noah winced and then he laughed as he recalled that crazy phone call.

"This was much worse."

"Oh, damn."

The room grew slightly brighter with the light from Rex's cell phone. "I guess he's trying a new way to punish me. Check this out: _All Active Agents are to treat all members of the public with the proper respect and under no circumstances_…"

Soon enough Noah's eyes drifted closed and he fell asleep to the monotone sound of Rex baritone reciting regulation after regulation.

00000000000

Noah woke with two eyes staring down at him utterly freaking him out. "AH!" he screamed sitting up.

"Shh, Noah. Relax. It's only me."

"Rex?" Noah asked redundantly. He held a hand to his chest; he could feel his heart hammering hard against his ribcage in his panic.

"Yeah. Sorry, about that. Your alarm was going off, but you weren't waking up."

"Wha-?" Noah moved his hand from his chest to push Rex off to the right so he could see the digital alarm clock on his desk. Piercing green light read out the time. 6:15AM. _Great_. "I totally forgot to change that," Noah groaned and rolled his eyes. "Can you hand me that?"

"I'll change it," Rex offered. "What time did you want to wake up?"

"Not now that's for sure," Noah scoffed and yawned. "Ten-thirty is fine."

Rex got up and placed a finger on the top of the clock and soon the room was filled with the familiar whirl of nanites. Noah watched with the same fascination he always felt when Rex did what Rex does best; control active nanites. Soft blue light radiated from his forearm as the electric lines of working nanites traveled down the length of his arm to the top of the alarm clock.

"Aaand done," Rex announced flexing his fingers.

Noah snorted and hugged himself. "Show off."

"You know it." There was enough predawn light streaming into the room for Noah to see Rex grinning with pride. He smiled lazily at him and chuckled in the back of his throat. Rex's grin faltered. He looked at Noah and for the second time that night he looked as if he wanted to say something important, but once again he stopped the words from coming out.

Noah sighed tiredly. "I wish you'd just come out with it."

"C-come out with what?" Rex stammered, clearly caught off guard by his question.

"With whatever it was you've been struggling to say." Noah rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He hadn't meant to speak his thoughts but now that he had he was going to see it through. Maybe he would finally get the answers to he had been waiting to hear since Rex stormed off.

When he looked back up at his friend he had to resist the urge to get up and hug him. He looked lost, unsure. It was so un-Rex like it bothered Noah to see him this way.

"I'm going to miss you." Though he said it quietly Noah was able to hear him.

A smile tugged at the sides of his face. He couldn't believe this was what Rex couldn't say. "I am going to miss you too, buddy." The smile faded when Rex winced at the word buddy.

"You are usually so good at this kind of thing. Why don't you understand" Rex huffed and squeezed his gloved fists.

Noah blinked. He thought he did understand. Rex was afraid. For all his talents and all his bravado that didn't protect Rex from experiencing loss. Already Rex had lost so much in his young life; too much, in Noah's opinion. And now he thought he was losing him, too.

"Everything's going to be fine, Rex. I'm going but I am not leaving you. So you don't have to worry about me."

"And what if I want to worry about you? What if I like it?"

Noah stared at him. Trying to figure out what Rex was really asking him. But it appeared Rex had given up on waiting for Noah to guess Rex's true intentions as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Noah's, only in the dark his aim was off and he kissed his lower lip and chin. Noah pulled away but Rex moved forward and kissed him again, this time square on the lips. Noah's body froze with tension. His head buzzed as he tried to take in what was happening.

"Rex, wait-Stop."

At the word, Rex did. He pulled back and stared at Noah with his eyes half closed.

"Can we talk about this?" he asked breathlessly.

"Yeah, sure," Rex agreed his mouth slightly open looking as if talking was the last thing he wanted to do.

Rex wasn't going to speak unless he had to which left Noah being the one who would have to start what was sure to be a very uncomfortable conversation.

He made a fist and put to his lips and tried not to think about how he could still feel Rex's touch as he cleared his throat. "So, uh, ahem, so you wanna tell me where that came from?"

"I thought that would be obvious," Rex replied unkindly.

Noah felt himself bristle. He knew Rex was attempting to get a rise out of him, hoping to make prying answers out of him so difficult it would make Noah so frustrated that he wouldn't want to speak to him at all. Though such tactics might work on White Knight and Doctor Holiday, Rex was going to find out he wouldn't be as successful this time. Noah could be just as stubborn as him if not more so when it came to finding out the truth.

With his resolve strengthened Noah stared into Rex's blushing face. "No, it's not obvious. You are going to have to explain yourself."

"Noe, I'm sorry."

Noah held up a hand, stopping Rex from continuing. "Don't. Don't apologize unless you regret kissing me. Just tell me why you did it." Though he hadn't been expecting it Noah couldn't say he was entirely unhappy with this sudden development, even if he was still trying to process what it all meant.

"You know I'm not good at that kind of thing."

Noah nodded in agreement. It wasn't as if Rex couldn't explain himself with words, but he had been taught by Six anything you had to say could be better expressed through action. Which Rex had taken to heart. It was pretty much all he knew. Rex, Noah's man of action.

"Oh, my god," Noah started to laugh lowly when something clicked in his head. "You are so god damn lame, Rex." He gestured for Rex to sit next to him.

With reluctance Rex did as he was instructed, confusion knitting his brows together.

"Is that why you're mad at me, because you were trying to confess to me while I was in La-La Land getting ready to leave?"

Rex cleared his throat but remained quiet.

"Ha, I'm right," he chuckle, having correctly interpreted Rex's silence. "Holy crap, you are so lame. Like epically lame."

The insult seemed to help Rex find his voice. "That's a bit harsh, Noe."

"But totally accurate." If he was trying to look for sympathy from Noah he wasn't going to find it. "I can't believe you are telling me this now."

"What do you want me to say? 'Noah, you mean a lot to me, but I didn't know how much until you started talking about college?' Because that's the truth."

"Dude, I've been talking about college since I was ten years old."

"Yeah, I know, but I didn't…I didn't know that…I thought you'd be going somewhere here, you know, close by not on the other side of the country." Rex sighed in frustration and stared down at his lap.

Noah followed his line of sight. He was flexing and unclenching his fingers, his nerves making him fidget. Noah couldn't believe he was able to make Rex nervous. "Look, I know my timing couldn't have been worse, and you obviously don't feel the same way, so let's forget this ever happened and start over again. Sound good?"

Noah felt anger stirring within him like a bad case of indigestion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Which part?"

"The obviously I don't feel the same way towards you bit."

Rex's face fell. "Well, you didn't kiss me back," he tripped over the word kiss as if it offended him.

"So, just because I didn't respond the way you wanted me to when you surprise kissed me, you automatically thought it meant I don't want you to ever kiss me?" Noah challenged. He could feel his face heat up as he spoke, but as embarrassing as it was to say it didn't lessen the truth of his words. After his mom and dad, Rex was the most important person in his life; it wasn't difficult for him to see his growing affection for Rex was toeing the boundary between bro-mance and romance. Could it be since he believed it was a one sided feeling doomed to fail before it ever began that he had missed the same signs coming from Rex? That definitely seemed to be the case.

He looked into Rex's face and the sadness and distress of losing someone he cared about made Noah's heart twist with a need to erase those fears from his eyes. The revelation brought a grin to his face. "I'm also pretty lame, huh?"

Confusion broke through the anxiety until there was a matching grin over his lips. "Epically so," Rex agreed.


End file.
